Thomas Scharping is Professor Emeritus at the University of Cologne, Germany. He studied in Berlin and Hongkong. From 1973 to 1988 he worked on the China desk of a research and policy-advising institute of the German government. Also, he acted as interpreter for Chinese and business representative in China. Since 1988 he was chair for the politics, economy and society of modern China in Cologne, with regular research stays and guest visits to China, East Asia and the USA, as well as guest professorships at the universities of Vienna (Austria) and Turku (Finland). He retired in 2013 and then was guest professor at Free University Berlin until 2017. His past and present research focuses on population policy and demographic development, social and political problems of modern China. Among his publications are The Democratic League and Its Precursors 1939–1949, Chinese Intellectuals Between Kuomintang and Communist Party (1972, in German), Mao: A Chronological Biography (1976, in German), Resettlement Programs for Chinese Youth 1955–1980: Problems of Urban-Rural Relations in Chinese Developmental Policy (1981, in German), Birth Planning in China: Analyses, Data, Documents (1995, in German), Floating Population and Migration in China: The Impact of Economic Reforms (1997), Birth Control in China 1949–2000: Population Policy and Demographic Development (2003) and numerous articles on political structure, economic reforms, social changes and population developments in China.

He is editor of Cologne China Studies Online – Working Papers on Chinese Politics, Economy and Society – which can be downloaded from the website www.china.uni-koeln.de/papers.